Dua Saleh will be Sex Education’s first non-binary character (Instagram/@doitlikedua)
Sex Education season three has cast the gender non-conforming artist, songwriter, poet and actor Dua Saleh as a non-binary student.
Dua Saleh will join Sex Education as Moordale student Cal, who “instantly clashes” with the new headmistress’s vision for the school. The role marks the show’s first non-binary character as well as Saleh’s screen debut.
Although the Sudanese-American star may be new to the acting world they’re already making waves in music after their first EP Nūr in 2019 prompted heavy industry buzz.
Saleh followed their debut up this summer with the protest song “Body Cast”, in aid of Black Visions Collective, and their second EP “Rosetta”.
The multidisciplinary artist describes their music as “reflective of the lens that [they] navigate the world with”.
“I don’t create music with any particular intention, it falls out of me naturally as an expression of how I’m feeling at the time,” they told PinkNews in February.
They explained that for them, being Black and non-binary means that they “often operate from a place of survival due to oppression, but can still manage to find joy and self-love”.
“It means knowing that I share a community with people that hold a wealth of experience and creativity,” they continued.
“It means that I carry a legacy and power that can not be bridled by the social imaginary. Having all of these multilayered identities means that I have sociopolitical responsibility to share my truth with the world even in the face of adversity.”
Sex Education season three adds Harry Potter and Girls stars to cast.
Joining Saleh on season three of Sex Education is former Girls star Jemima Kirke, who will play Moordale High’s new headmistress, Hope.
The cast will also be joined by Jason Isaacs, whose recent credits include Star Trek: Discovery. He also starred in The OA and played Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series.
Isaacs is set to play the role of Peter, who is described as “Mr Groff’s more successful/less modest older brother”.
Production began earlier this month in Wales for premiere in 2021.